Each other
by AniZH
Summary: Sikowitz proposes a challenge to the group: He invites them to his house to play poker for an hour. But they aren't supposed to come as themselves but as each other. Tori ends up playing Jade and Jade ends up playing no other than Beck.


Hello!  
This is another one shot I amused myself with for a while already and I decided to write it and share.  
It's mainly about Beck and Jade, told out of Tori's perspective once more, though the rest of the group and Sikowitz are present too.  
Please, enjoy!

* * *

Sikowitz always has crazy ideas but he challenges his students in the right way.

This time, after having given some impersonation lessons during acting class, he proposes an unusual challenge to the group. One hour. They are supposed to come over to his place for one hour. But they are not supposed to act like themselves but like each other.

The friends find it hilarious and immediately draw names to decide who's gonna act as whom.

Andre's the first to go and he draws Robbie.

"Cool," he says. "I don't think I can carry Rex around though, even for one hour."

He looks at the puppet sceptically and Rex easily answers: "Don't worry about it. I didn't plan to come anyway."

"And this thing just got a lot more durable," Jade dryly states, making Cat giggle.

"Robbie, you're next," Sikowitz interrupts them, holding out the box with the pieces of paper for Robbie.

"Let's see," Robbie says and draws one. "Oh, I'm doing Tori."

"I'd like to..." Rex starts but Tori interrupts him quickly: "No." Rex doesn't dare keep talking with that and everyone of the group glaring at him for the coming comment.

Sikowitz holds out the box for Tori: "You got picked, you get to pick."

Tori draws a piece of paper and reads the name out aloud: "Jade."

Oh.

Tori blinks. She isn't sure if she should be gleeful about this or afraid. Obviously, when you act out one of your friends you can also poke fun at them with it. Which will be fun. Except if Jade reacts badly to it.

Jade only cocks an eyebrow at her. Well, noone but Beck ever could do her justice but Tori of all people? Well...

She's the next to pick a piece of paper. "Beck," she reads out and adds sarcastically: "Great."

"Aren't you happy to be playing me?" Beck checks. He honestly loves the idea.

Jade rolls her eyes. "I'd be happy if that wouldn't make her" – she gestures to Tori – "my girlfriend for an hour."

Beck smirks. "She won't be your girlfriend. Jade is." That also makes the other guys smirk and Cat say: "That's so true!"

Jade also seems amused, still: "Only if her acting skills measure up."

Tori decides: "You will love me! Even if it's just because I'm you and you're Beck and you have no choice." Like Beck doesn't seem to have a choice but loving Jade.

Beck grins about that and Jade may roll her eyes once more but finally, she also smirks.

Beck himself draws Cat's name and Jade says that she's excited to see that which she is.

Promptly, Cat says: "Me, too! Oh, oh, oh, do you want me to lend you some clothes?"

"I don't think I will fit," Beck says.

Cat looks at him almost with sparkles in her eyes. "I can make you some that are exactly like mine."

Beck blinks but: "Sure, if you're actually willing to put the work into it." If he goes for something, he really goes for it. Especially when it's about acting. Having a costume especially designed to fit him and the character he's playing? Why wouldn't he like that?

Cat draws the last piece of paper that of course has Andre's name written on it and after they figured out a few more details about their visit, for example that they will play poker while acting as each other, to have a clear setting, Tori finally asks: "How will we know who wins?"

Everyone turns to Sikowitz with interest and he responds: "It's a group challenge. You win together or lose together. I'm determining your win."

.

.

As the whole group is competetive, they deem it a bit boring that it's not a competition between them but they still think it'll be great fun. And it being a group challenge actually even makes Jade lend Tori some of her clothes for a more convincing act.

Jade also approaches Tori in front of her locker during their last break on the day of their challenge. "I'll pick you up tonight."

"I can drive there myself," Tori answers confused. After all, she does finally have her driver's license.

Jade pointedly says: "Beck would pick me up and we would arrive together, so I'm going to pick you up."

Well, just as Beck, Jade isn't a person to do this half-way. And what does it matter to Tori if she drives herself or gets driven around by Jade? "Okay."

.

.

Jade texts her from the car that she's in the drive-way, as if she couldn't get out of the car and walk to the door to ring the doorbell.

Tori takes a last glance in the mirror before she heads out and to Jade's car.

"Hey," she greets her already in her Jade voice to get into character.

"Yeah, hey," Jade answers in the same voice and with an eyeroll, starting the car back up and pulling back out of the drive-way.

"Not gonna act like Beck yet," Tori notices. That can't be how Beck greets Jade. Tori has never heard him like that before.

"Not until we're through the door," she answers.

Well, okay then. As Tori meanwhile feels like she should already get into her role, she closes her eyes and concentrates on that. She can't talk to Jade as Jade when she's behaving like Jade. Well, that thought already confuses her, so she deems it better to not do any small talk with Jade. As Jade isn't a fan of small talk anyway...

After a long while, Jade raises her voice though: "You're not opposed to us kissing, right?"

"Uhm, what?" Tori says. Has Jade really just asked that as a by the way thought?

Jade pointedly answers, as if Tori has asked her why they would ever do that: "You do realize, Beck and I kiss all the time. So, we will kiss as well. I won't loose this."

So it hasn't even been a question if they would be kissing, has it been? If Jade now says that they absolutely will.

Well... And why shouldn't they? It's just kissing while they are acting. "Yeah, fine."

"And we're gonna touch a lot," Jade informs her as if she's got nothing to say about it herself. With a smirk, Jade adds: "But if you're doing a good job and actually behave like me, I think I'll be fine with being close to you."

"Yeah, thank you so much," Tori of course has to say sarcastically.

They ride in silence for another minute, before they arrive at Sikowitz' home. Only that Jade isn't stopping the car but driving right past it.

"What are you doing?" Tori wants to know.

Jade easily answers: "We can't be there this early, so I'll drive around the block at least once."

Tori checks the time. It's pretty much exactly the time they wanted to meet up. "Why can't we get there on time?"

"Because Beck and I would've usually made out as he picked me up," Jade answers.

Well, okay. If they always do that but apparently don't plan time for it, it explains a lot about how late they always seem to be for everything.

.

.

In front of Sikowitz' door, Jade takes a deep breath. Tori imitates her. So this is it. She's certain that it will be difficult, but also fun, to act as Jade and see eveveryone else also change personalities.

As she rings the door bell, Jade then puts her arm around Tori's waist. Okay, they are really going to do this, huh?

Sikowitz opens the door for them with the most gleeful look.

As they walk inside, Tori sees that the others are already there and what a sight it is, with everyone dressing as somebody else. Especially Beck dressing like Cat! Tori hopes they will take a lot of photos later. Jade wouldn't take photos, so she probably shouldn't while the challenge is happening.

"Hey, everyone," Jade greets.

Tori decides to not utter a greeting at all while everyone greets back. Jade also does that. It's almost as if she thinks Beck's greeting would suffice for both of them.

"Hi," Beck makes in the funniest every impression of Cat. It's somehow so wrong and yet so spot on. He's already with them and looking at Tori: "Jade, I'm so happy you're finally here. I'm already so excited for our poker night!"

He even giggles, which makes Cat giggle too, though she's supposed to be Andre and well, Andre doesn't sound like that. As Tori is supposed to be Jade and she wants to shoot Cat a warning look because this is a challenge they could all loose together, she allows herself to glare at Cat. And then also at Beck as if his behaviour annoys her though she loves everything about it.

Sikowitz also seems to enjoy himself and makes a gesture to the table he set up with seven chairs in the middle of his living room. "Okay, with everyone here, let's start and play poker." And he also starts a one hour timer on his phone for everyone to see.

They all sit down – Tori of course keeping next to Jade and sitting down next to her. Jade promptly pulls her chair closer to herself and puts an arm around her. Tori has seen Beck do that before. Though usually, Jade sits close enough to him anyway, that he doesn't need to pull her chair closer to him.

She tries to look as comfortable as Jade always does in Beck's arms while Sikowitz shuffles the cards.

.

.

They have such a good time and Tori finds the hardest part to not grin because of the others – and she can't just grin all the time, playing Jade. She tries to make snarky comments like Jade does instead and also gets closer and closer to Jade with every minute passing. It gets easy to even kiss one time in between, just because.

While they're playing, they're obviously talking a lot. Sikowitz makes them, whenever they stop talking to concentrate more on the game. It's of course only challenging to act like each other when they aren't only silently playing poker.

At some point, the group starts talking about some weird camping thing they did in Robbie's backyard once because of something one of their teachers said. Tori can barely follow because, well, she didn't knew the group back then. This is the first time she ever heard about something alike and it doesn't make sense for her.

Robbie, who's playing her, first almost slips up and is about to agree with Beck – who's playing Cat very convincingly with how all over the place his conversation topics are – that that was so much fun and they should do it again. Then he realizes that Tori wasn't with them back then and instead takes it on himself to question the others about it as much as possible.

Which Tori enjoys at first because she does want to know more about it. Just that Robbie... is getting really pushy about it.

"Come on, tell me," he says for the thousands time. "We are friends, are we not? I wanna know what this is about. Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Wait, is this how she, Tori, actually behaves? Is she pushy like this? She's just curious, isn't she? In a good way?

It honestly hurts her that Robbie is playing her like this and weirdly, she realizes in that moment that she's supposed to be Jade and Jade lashes out whenever she wants and... just to make this whole topic go away, she asks in a vicious tone, directed at Robbie: "Will you shut the fuck up?"

His face falls and, gosh, no, she didn't want to hurt him. He realizes she's playing Jade, yes? She doesn't want him to think that she would honestly ask him to stop in that kind of way. So, she promptly turns to the others too: "Can you all shut up with that old crap? You annoy me so much. Ugh."

"Jade." The word comes warningly and yet patiently and sounds so much like Beck though it's no other than Jade herself who said it.

Tori slowly turns to her but finds Jade's expression to be unreadable, though she looks back openly.

Shit, did she go too far? Tori hasn't even thought about anything alike before. But she just felt hurt because of Robbie's portrayal of her. Does Jade feel the same now because of her?

Yes, Jade lashes out like that sometimes. But... it also may be true that Tori sometimes gets a bit pushy. It still hurts seeing someone else pointing it out in such a way.

She wants nothing more to check with Jade if she is okay, if they are okay. She wants to let her know that she doesn't only see her like this, not only vicious.

But Jade would be the first to kill her if she breaks character to check on her, in the middle of their challenge.

She needs a moment, but then it's so easy to find a way to check: "Say you love me." She feels almost vulnerable using those words and she wonders if Jade does too when she does.

Jade calmly responds: "Magic word."

Tori never understood it. But as she and Jade look into each other's eyes and Tori needs to know Jade and her to be okay, she somehow gets it. Because obviously Jade's fine, otherwise she wouldn't play around like this. Which is screwed up because she's just playing Beck but... Yes, Beck probably also only would ask for a magic word if there's absolutely no doubt about his love for Jade. If it even would seem ridiculous for him that there should be doubt.

"Please," Tori says, doing it sweetly like Jade always does.

Jade smiles like Beck. "I love you," she says before they share a kiss.

.

.

The hour is nearing the end when Sikowitz turns to Tori, standing up: "Jade, can you come with me for a sec?"

Tori rolls her eyes like Jade would. "Ugh. If I have to."

She does wonder why Sikowitz apparently wants to talk to her alone.

They leave the apartment and Sikowitz closes the front door behind them.

"What?" Tori asks him exasperated with Jade's tone of voice.

Sikowitz checks the door to be really closed before he then says, quietly and quickly: "Tori, I honestly wanted to teach you something. I wanted to show you, where to draw the line. Acting like your friends sounds fun at first and it can be all fun and games, but it's also easy to overstep a line, to overact them or just do something that hits right into their core." Like Robbie did with Tori. "Depending on how you set your priorities, being an artist can also mean to overstep a lot of lines, but you have to realize that and know for yourself if you want to do it and that you want to do it. That's what this is about. Beck was the first to draw back with acting out Cat, though she didn't even show offense."

The moment Sikowitz mentions that, before Tori can wonder when that happened, he remembers how Beck asked within the first few minutes of the poker game if he won with his hand and how he went silent for a bit after that, after presenting Cat dumber than she actually is.

"You also drew back though Jade didn't seem hurt by your performance," Sikowitz continues and Tori is impressed that he noticed. "Cat, Robbie and Andre dialed back their performance after they saw they hurt each other or you."

Yes, Robbie did change his portrayal a bit after Tori felt hurt by him. Because he saw.

And now she also remembers how Andre made a comment about Rex before that and how he is supposedly a better friend than all of them. And how his face sobered up right after that. He must have seen in Robbie's eyes that that comment somehow touched close to home and that he shouldn't comment at all on Rex or his and Robbie's relationship, even while playing Robbie, as none of them know why Robbie needs Rex but they know he does for something serious.

And she remembers Cat a few minutes ago, after they joked around, also about Robbie, saying as Andre that she would totally make a song out of those jokes and how she looked at Andre at that who even Tori saw looking thoughtful and almost crestfallen, as if he wondered if he actually did put his friends in his songs like that and if it was bad.

Sikowitz continues: "Jade is the only one who still acts out Beck without hesitation. Beck also hasn't seemed hurt as of now. So, I would like for you to start a fight with Jade. You as her and Jade as Beck of course. Maybe, that'll change something and Jade will learn the lesson herself as well."

She's supposed to start a fight with Jade? Well... "Okay, I'll try."

.

.

It's easy to deflect questions about what they were talking about when going back in, acting like Jade, all annoyed by them asking.

And a reason for a fight also comes by surprisingly easy. Tori doesn't start right away as she thinks it would be too obvious. She waits it out for a few minutes and then, she waits until Jade smiles at Robbie again – Jade's smiling a lot as Beck, while Robbie of course acts out Tori.

"Can you stop smiling at her?"

"What?" Jade makes, confused.

Tori's heart starts pounding like crazy. Gosh, she doesn't like this at all. She can't just start a fight like this, can she?

But she turns to Jade, though not meeting her eye directly: "You smile at her all the time. Can you stop that?"

Jade sighs in that silent way that Beck does as well. "Jade. We wanted to have a nice evening."

Okay, Tori totally knows what Jade would say to that: "You apparently want to have a nice evening with Tori!"

"I don't and you know that," Jade responds. "Calm down."

And even though Tori tries to totally block out everyone else on the table and though it's not actually Beck and Jade fighting but Jade as Beck and Tori as Jade, there seems to be a short intake of breath by Robbie, Andre and Cat at those last words. Because nobody, not even Beck, should tell Jade to calm down in a situation like this.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Tori says viciously.

Gosh, but everyone can tell, right? That she started this fight on purpose because Sikowitz told her to? Sure, she is trying to act like Jade but the others have to know that she wouldn't start a fight like this either way, right?

But Jade reacts in role: "Can you just chill for once?"

"Can you just be a good boyfriend for once?" Tori shoots back like she heard Jade do before.

And there, she sees it. Jade's face hardens, just like Beck's always does when Jade says that. But not only hers does. Beck's sitting on her other side by now, they all changed seats in between (with Tori and Jade keeping close to each other like Beck and Jade often do), and Tori sees how his face hardens too. Though Jade didn't actually say it to him this time around but Tori did to Jade.

And weirdly, Tori realizes that at least with those words out, Jade doesn't think about why Tori is doing it. It's hitting too close to home, it feels too real for her to wonder.

As Beck she says, now raising her voice a bit: "You always have to make a big deal out of everything! Don't be so damn difficult all the time!"

Well, okay, Tori understands why Jade gets angry when Beck says something like that to her. "So I'm at fault again. You're the one flirting, but I'm..."

"I haven't been flirting," Jade interrupts as Beck. "You know Tori and I are friends."

Yeah, that's reasonable. Tori always finds Beck and his words reasonable though she also thinks he sometimes flirts with different girls. Well, but she isn't here to agree with Beck – or with Jade playing Beck.

"You wanted to kiss her!" it bursts out of her and she immediately hates herself for it. Shit. Jade doesn't know about that, does she? About that whole thing happening during the Platinum Music Awards.

Tori hopes so badly that Jade will just assume that this is about all the stage kisses she and Beck had, so there won't be a real fight following this fake one. This feels so real and makes Tori's heart almost pop out of her chest because she hates fighting like this.

"While we were broken up," Jade responds calmly though. Wait. Does she know? She has to with that answer, right? Did Beck tell her? "You made out with Moose while we were broken up!"

Wait, what? Jade didn't make out with Moose! But it's Jade saying that. Or is it just Beck thinking she made out with Moose and Jade knowing about it and therefore saying it? Or isn't she reacting in role anymore but wants to provoke Tori a bit to slip up as she gets that something is up?

Tori quickly pulls herself together in any way and says: "Well, I don't hang out with Moose all the time."

Jade looks at her for a long moment, before she says, still as Beck: "I know. I'm sorry. That was dumb. Still, it's also dumb for you to keep being on Tori's case. You know I love you."

Tori feels like melting. It's sweet. If someone she loves would talk to her this way... How could she keep fighting him even if she was angry with him? With the way, the I love you sounds... Gosh, and Jade is conveying all that love that Beck also always has in his voice whenever he tells her he loves her.

But she's supposed to fight with Jade until she doesn't act like Beck anymore, until she oversteps a line and realizes it.

That's why she tries: "But now you're calling me stupid?"

"I never said that you're stupid," Jade says though. "It's stupid for you to still be onto Tori. You are friends, you know."

Well, Tori feels almost smug hearing those words out of Jade's mouth. Words about her being friends with Tori. Her actually admitting it, through Beck's voice.

"Yeah, thanks," she says disregarding though. "God, you're annoying."

That can't provoke Beck, so it can't provoke Jade right now.

"Anyway," she instead says and turns back to the others like Beck would: "Where were we?"

Okay, what is Tori supposed to do? She can't do anything more than this. She looks at Sikowitz helplessly who also realizes it's a lost cause and suddenly stands up. "I have to confess something!"

He tells them everything like he did with Tori before and also confesses to asking her to start that fight, which surprises everyone which surprises Tori in turn. Obviously she was asked to start that stupid fight. She was outside with Sikowitz alone just a few minutes before that.

"Sadly, you haven't drawn back in your act even slightly," Sikowitz finishes up, addressing Jade, who has switched from sitting like Beck does into her own stance, giving up the act and now crossing her arms in front of her.

Beck is the one to speak up in her defence though: "I wasn't offended or hurt at all. I haven't had a reason to be."

Sikowitz turns to him: "Not one hurt feeling due to Jade's portrayal of you?"

"It has all been true, hasn't it been?" Beck asks and looks around the group of friends checkingly as if asking them if they thought she was off.

Sikowitz explains: "That doesn't have to matter. Sometimes, the truth hurts us most."

Beck shrugs, while Robbie turns to him: "Wasn't it weird for you to saw Jade acting like you? It weirded me out so much."

Andre and Cat nod, showing that it weirded them out too. Well, Tori was too concentrated on upholding the fight, so she didn't end up too weirded out.

"It was a different perspective," Beck only says.

"How was it for you?" Andre curiously asks Jade.

Which is a good question, in Tori's opinion, as Jade actually argued... against her own arguments. Tori did repeat a lot of lines that she heard Jade use before and Jade wasn't having any of it – as Beck.

Jade isn't fazed by it though: "It's not like I don't know where he's coming from when we fight, or how he's feeling. It's just that I'm right. Like Tori was right when she acted out me just now."

"Sure," Andre makes but they all notice how Beck smiles slightly at that.

Jade then also turns to him and says: "Though she wasn't right with everything. You are a good boyfriend."

That promptly widens Beck's smile and he leans forward and kisses her. She returns the kiss and then another kiss and another, with them barely breaking apart.

They need to get interrupted by Sikowitz: "Stop! Stop, you two! Not in my house!"

They break apart and Beck looks at Jade for another moment, before: "Anyway... Jade did draw back."

"She did?" Sikowitz asks.

Tori also hasn't noticed if that's the case. And why should Beck wait until now to say that, instead of immediately correcting Sikowitz in the assumption that Jade didn't change anything about her act.

"Not because she hurt me with the way she acted me out," Beck says. "She loves me the way she acted me out, so I wasn't hurt. But she saw that I got a bit jealous with how handsy she was with Tori and she dialed it back though she wanted to do this as best as possible."

Wait. Beck got jealous? And Jade saw it and dialed back her behaviour with Tori because of it?

She suddenly remembers how they had their love exchange and kissed and how Jade played with her, Tori's hand, for just a moment when Sikowitz shuffled the cards again, and how suddenly she drew back and... She barely touched her since then.

But... "You got jealous?" she asks Beck.

He nods while Sikowitz seems satisfied, turned to Jade: "Well, well, good to know that you also learned the lesson. Even if differently than I expected you to do. Wonderful! All of you: Well done!"

Well, and they have done well, all of them, right?

Tori thought before that it would be hard to keep the others straight in her mind, to remember who was supposed to be whom, but it wasn't as hard as imagined and not just because they all were dressed accordingly. They all did well. And what a fun and great challenge this was!

Of course, Cat suggests beaming: "Let's do this again with new roles next week!"


End file.
